Why are screen sizes still measured in inches?

[ElFenix]

I've already answered that argument above. We are going in circles here because you people are just unable to accept a world that doesn't revolve around the US market.

troll is trolling.


if the japanese and koreans want to cater to the US market by using US dimensions in their product numbers, they obviously have a reason to do so and who are you to tell them they can't?

 

[Binky]

Honestly, from a theoretical standpoint, a Hex system would be better than Decimal anyways. Just make A B C D E F their own symbols and move everything at once to a Hex-SI derivative.

It would never happen because people are too resistant to change, but a lot of math gets simplified when moving to a 2^4 system.

LOL. You must not get out much to talk with normal people.

 

[KAZANI]

troll is trolling.


if the japanese and koreans want to cater to the US market by using US dimensions in their product numbers, they obviously have a reason to do so and who are you to tell them they can't?

Look, the inarticulate, flag-waving crowd already tried to derail this thread about two pages (and a fortnight) back and failed. If you want to contribute with a valid argument feel free to do so, otherwise spare us the belated straw men reinforcements.

 

[Binky]

Sounds like a valid argument to me - the manufacturers are catering to the largest market in the world. I've hated the U.S. measurement system for more than 30 years but my complaints have yet to get things changed here.

 

[KAZANI]

the manufacturers are catering to the largest market in the world

How is the US the largest market when the EU alone is a much larger one?

 

[ElFenix]

Look, the inarticulate, flag-waving crowd already tried to derail this thread about two pages (and a fortnight) back and failed. If you want to contribute with a valid argument feel free to do so, otherwise spare us the belated straw men reinforcements.

so, in other words, you really don't have a response and you're here just to argue.

How is the US the largest market when the EU alone is a much larger one?

as has been made clear recently, much in part due to the actions of your countrymen, the EU is hardly a 'market' and more like a collection of independent states with vastly different expectations, pretending to get along as long as everything kinda looks hunky-dory. advertising in germany is different from france is different from greece.

 

[KAZANI]

the EU is hardly a 'market'

Keep telling that to yourself.

 

[alkemyst]

Exactly my point: Why is it the rest of the world obliged to multiply and not the US that has to divide? Is the US more important as a market than Europe, Japan, Korea, Canada and Australia COMBINED?

quality over quantity.

 

[Binky]

How is the US the largest market when the EU alone is a much larger one?

And you have the nerve to claim others are flag waving.

 

[ViRGE]

Take it down a notch, boys
-ViRGE

 

[KAZANI]

And you have the nerve to claim others are flag waving.

I don't know why you consider SIMPLE FACTS as "NERVE". The EU is half a billion people (and still expanding) whereas the US is only 320 million.

 

[DigitalWolf]

I don't know why you consider SIMPLE FACTS as "NERVE". The EU is half a billion people (and still expanding) whereas the US is only 320 million.

I'm not sure exactly what the point is you are trying to make there?


Quite a few (maybe even most) monitors are likely made by companies in some part of Asia. As far as I know all of those countries use the metric system... I'm not aware of any requirements by the US that force any of those countries to sell monitors measured in inches.


Even if there were "special requirements" why would anyone let such a small (according to you) market segment dictate their world wide distribution methods.


The only people who can answer the original question... are the ones making the monitors.


I spent a bit of time looking into monitor sales by region. The ones I could find all showed more total sales in the US than all of Europe combined. Tho again I'm not sure how you turned this into a EU versus US thread.. or even why.


Worldwide sales... would dwarf the US market regardless. There are only a few countries in the world that don't use the metric system. If all these non US based companies decide to use non metric standards... then ask them why... I certainly have no idea why they measure them in inches. Or... why they don't use a region based system.

 

[corkyg]

Echo what Virge says above. Why not deal with facts rather than emotions?

http://www.international-television.org/tv_market_data/global-tv-revenues-2008-2009.html

And, worldwide PC sales usually include monitors. Here are some of the latest data:

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/04/12/first_quarter_global_pc_sales/

How TVs aresized is purely a marketing decision. OEMs more often than not use metric for manufacture and development.

 

[Binky]

I don't know why you consider SIMPLE FACTS as "NERVE". The EU is half a billion people (and still expanding) whereas the US is only 320 million.

Its funny that you are derailing and trolling your own thread. You seem hellbent on proving your (EU) superiority.

 

[piasabird]

USA is one of the largest markets for new cutting edge products. So they make things measured in inches for us. If you were in china it would be some other type of measurement maybe.

US Money talks and Bullshit walks.

Hey that first link is 2009. That was a few years ago??? That would have been the year following the big stock market collapse? Many people are still suffering but life still moves on. Somehow Apple is selling i-gadgets like no tomorrow. I think a lot of people are shifting toward portable devices like tablets or smartphones.

 

[piasabird]

I like how the pie chart shows 3 significant sized markets; USA, EU, Asia. However, as I think, I wonder where the old soviet union states fall in the market. I think Russia and China Markets should be split up. Also I wonder what kind of size the Australia market is. The reason for this is that buying patterns may be different in China compared to Russia. I also wonder what the difference is between USA, Canada, and Mexico and central America. I think the markets could be looked at better if split up into different areas. For instance maybe Eastern Europe and Western Europe should be split up. Some areas in Europe may not be affluent as in Italy, UK, Germany, France, Sweden, etc.

 

[KAZANI]

Why not deal with facts rather than emotions?

http://www.international-television.org/tv_market_data/global-tv-revenues-2008-2009.html

I'm all for factual based discussion here, just make sure it's relevant cause in your fervor to rebuke me in this thread you just posted statistics pertaining to broadcasting revenues, not TV appliances sales.

And, worldwide PC sales usually include monitors. Here are some of the latest data:

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/04/12/first_quarter_global_pc_sales/

LOL...what? Assuming that far-fetched deduction of yours was true, that link doesn't even contain Europe-specific data.

How TVs aresized is purely a marketing decision.

I think that was the whole premise of my OP.

 

[KAZANI]

I'm not sure exactly what the point is you are trying to make there?


Quite a few (maybe even most) monitors are likely made by companies in some part of Asia. As far as I know all of those countries use the metric system... I'm not aware of any requirements by the US that force any of those countries to sell monitors measured in inches.


Even if there were "special requirements" why would anyone let such a small (according to you) market segment dictate their world wide distribution methods.


The only people who can answer the original question... are the ones making the monitors.


I spent a bit of time looking into monitor sales by region. The ones I could find all showed more total sales in the US than all of Europe combined. Tho again I'm not sure how you turned this into a EU versus US thread.. or even why.


Worldwide sales... would dwarf the US market regardless. There are only a few countries in the world that don't use the metric system. If all these non US based companies decide to use non metric standards... then ask them why... I certainly have no idea why they measure them in inches. Or... why they don't use a region based system.

You just summed-up my positions. The scope of this thread was to examine the underlying reasons of an inch-based marketing scheme in a vastly metric world market. I didn't turn this into an EU vs US thread, I just brought up Europe as an example and somehow that wound up the US patriots. lols...THIS ISN'T EVEN A METRIC Vs IMPERIAL THREAD!

 

[Dahak]

While it is somewhat annoying that the measurements are in inches but for me the real question is why force us computer users to use the stupid 16x9 resolutions (i know because of tvs)

give me good old 5:4 or 16:10

 

[nickbits]

Other countries can tolerate inches. The US hates metric. Use inches and you cover everything.

I was raised with metric (Canada) and hate it but I lived on the US border and only watched US TV and everything was imperial. I still have no concept of what is warm or cold in celcius.

 

[meatwad2000]

You just summed-up my positions. The scope of this thread was to examine the underlying reasons of an inch-based marketing scheme in a vastly metric world market. I didn't turn this into an EU vs US thread, I just brought up Europe as an example and somehow that wound up the US patriots. lols...THIS ISN'T EVEN A METRIC Vs IMPERIAL THREAD!

I came to this forum to read a thread about Klipsch speakers, but browsing around I discovered this discussion, which has become quite vitriolic, and have decided to weigh in. After reading all the posts from every position, and after thoroughly analyzing all the facts, my official conclusion is that you have lost this debate. I render this verdict for the following reasons:

Your claim that "It's not like updating to the metric system in this situation will be adding to any costs" has been deemed "likely untrue" for the following reasons:

1) It is possible to likely that printing and distributing more variations of product packaging, promotional material and other associated materials would add to costs, so a split compromise seems unlikely. Ensuring that certain units do not reach metric markets as opposed to Imperial markets, and vice versa, would impose additional overhead of some kind. Further, if an American distributor decided to sell his inventory to another distributor overseas (or vice versa), it is possible that the atypicality of the unit type would cause price depreciation to occur before a deal could be proffered.

2) If certain monitor brands converted to metric, American customers would likely opt to pay less attention to those units to avoid making conversions while shopping. This could have the effect of reducing profits.

3) Because other countries are already used to measuring monitors in inches, no profit is being lost by continuing this policy.

Businesses almost universally seek to avoid risking any loss of profits, therefore the preceding points have resolved this debate in a satisfactory manner. Any continued argumentativeness on the part of Kazani should be disregarded unless he would like to make a new thread on a more general Imperial vs metric debate (he explicitly stated that this debate was not that).

If you have a debate in another thread which remains unresolved despite participants' best efforts, feel free to shoot me a PM and I will render my verdict. Thank you all for the discussion.

All judgments rendered are done so independently of the board operators. Compliance with my recommendations is advised, but not necessary.

As an aside, I will tack on here a brief explanation of why Americans do not, on their own initiative, make the change to metric. While many Americans support the idea (as evidenced by this thread), it would require political support and a large initiative in order to become reality. Currently in American politics, it is considered politically unsafe to propose any changes which involve going from the "American" way of doing something to a more "European" way of doing something. Yes, even if the change would be good in the long run. A politician might lose votes over the issue from those who do not want to be inconvenienced by learning metric. The votes which would be gained would not eclipse the votes lost. Therefore, a large enough initiative is unlikely to become organized, and the status quo will persist unless an overwhelming need to change develops.

 

[gsaldivar]

Is the US more important as a market than Europe, Japan, Korea, Canada and Australia COMBINED?

Yes.

 

[alkemyst]

america, fuck yeah!

ftfy

 

[azeem40]

Wow, this is more of a topic for insults than answers. If people keep thinking their view is better, the world will be at wit's end!

 

[azeem40]

Also, before you come in and argue numbers with me, I am just here to state how I feel, which I have already done so prior to this post.